how to pronounce...

[M forever]

Ah...that explains part of it.  12tone is Canadian, so to explain to him you would point out that the German "w" is pronounced like an English "v." 

Unless 12tone is Franco-Canadian, then you would have to say that German w is pronounced like *French* v ... uh ... which is basically the same as English v, I guess. Actually, the use of w as a v sound in German is an abnormality, most languages use v as v (meaning v as in English) which is what the Roman letter v originally was. Dunno why German has the w instead, and v is sometimes pronounced like English v, sometimes like f.

BTW, "Chailly" sound more like sha-EE-yee with the last syllable rather weak though.

A Dutch writer once said - A Dutchman is simply a German who drinks milk.

I don't get that. Germans drink milk, too. Explain the joke (if there is one).

As far as that 'oo' is concerned - isn't there in the w-sound, because of the roundedness of the lips, a slight 'oo'?

I just tried it several times. There is really no oo.

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

"Explain the joke (if there is one)."

Well, to us milk is quintessentially Dutch - cows here have more space than humans do. There's more milk flowing through our veins than blood - it seems that the Dutch are generally so tall because of all the milk they drink. So when this Dutch writer says that 'a Dutchman is simply a German who drinks milk', he does two things: he connects the two countries (and remember: anti-German sentiment has been strong in the Netherlands ever since the war), implying that the Dutch and the Germans aren't all that different, AND he alludes to the fact that the Dutch connect Germans with beer, not milk (although the Dutch like their beer, too...).

I know the joke must have evaporated by now, but - here's your explanation...

[Ten thumbs]

Unless 12tone is Franco-Canadian, then you would have to say that German w is pronounced like *French* v ... uh ... which is basically the same as English v, I guess. Actually, the use of w as a v sound in German is an abnormality, most languages use v as v (meaning v as in English) which is what the Roman letter v originally was. Dunno why German has the w instead, and v is sometimes pronounced like English v, sometimes like f.

The Roman letter v was originally our u, so w is actually a double v, as it appears in print. In Welsh a single f is pronounced as v, whereas a double ff is used for the softer f.

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

Now I know how to pronounce 'Myfanwy' correctly...

[longears]

Yes...but can you pronounce "Genir pawb yn rhydd ac yn gydradd â'i gilydd mewn urddas a hawliau. Fe'u cynysgaeddir â rheswm a chydwybod, a dylai pawb ymddwyn y naill at y llall mewn ysbryd cymodlon?"

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

Yes...but can you pronounce "Genir pawb yn rhydd ac yn gydradd â'i gilydd mewn urddas a hawliau. Fe'u cynysgaeddir â rheswm a chydwybod, a dylai pawb ymddwyn y naill at y llall mewn ysbryd cymodlon?"

Can you pronounce 'Dit vind ik vreselijk lastig om uit te spreken, vooral omdat ik niet weet wat de klankwaarde van alle klinkers en medeklinkers is'?

[longears]

Is it like "Das find ich sehr schwer zu sprechen, usw," aber mit Milch im Mund?  As for the Welsh, I'm not sure even they know how to pronounce it!

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

"Is it like "Das find ich sehr schwer zu sprechen, usw," aber mit Milch im Mund?"



But yes, translated into German it reads 'Das finde ich schrecklich schwierig auszusprechen, weil ich nicht weiss was der Klangwert der Vokale und Konsonante ist'...

[longears]

Just stuff a bunch of soda crackers into your mouth and you'll sound like a native speaker in no time!

[Solitary Wanderer]

Ok, is this correct:

Bayreuth = By-root

Tribschen = Tri-shen

Wahnfried = Van-freed

[Dancing Divertimentian]

Ok, is this correct:

Bayreuth = By-root

More like By-roit or By-roeet (if you're American, think Detroit).

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

Both are rough approximations of the Polish y. (OTOH, Polish does not have the "uh" sound nor exactly the "i" from "igloo".) The i (as in it, pit, knit, sick etc. but especially: chip, chit and chisel) is closer to the ideal, at least to my ear. You can improve it by smiling wide when you say it.

So I'd go for (it's still rough):
m yeah CHISS suave

While I'm at it, may I mention the fact that Górecki is pronounced: goor-ETZ-key? (Mikołaj is the sequence of words: me, co, why).

Quintett, could you finally put my mind at rest about this:
Is Swann pronounced Swan or Svan?? (I always assumed the former?)

Maciek, I thought that the "Mie" in Mieczyslaw sounds like the French "mien" (ergo: nasal)...

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

Ok, is this correct:

Bayreuth = By-root

Tribschen = Tri-shen

Wahnfried = Van-freed

Byroit (indeed, Donwyn)

Treepshen (rolling r)

Wahn rhymes with Khan

[zamyrabyrd]

Maybe someone can explain why some Germans (at least the ones in my circle) have a habit of pronouncing v's like w's, as wery, instead of very. After all, v is no problem for them.
Also one woman in particular used to say the j's as ch's.

ZB

[karlhenning]

Byroit (indeed, Donwyn)

Not "Beirut"? . . .

[rappy]

Byroit is correct.

@zanyrabyrd: what exactly is the difference between very and wery?

[Mr. Darcy]

How about Kaija Saarhiaho?

Sofia Gubaidulina?

Karita Mattila?

Thanks!

[Brünnhilde forever]

Maybe someone can explain why some Germans (at least the ones in my circle) have a habit of pronouncing v's like w's, as wery, instead of very. After all, v is no problem for them.
Also one woman in particular used to say the j's as ch's.

ZB

Have you ever thought that this is the way those certain letters are pronounced in their native language? 

[Kullervo]

How about Kaija Saarhiaho?
Karita Mattila?

Thanks!

Kaee (as in "kite" or "hi")-ya Saah-ri-aho

The "aa" is slightly drawn out and the "r" is rolled.

Kah-reeta Maht-tillah

There should be a slight break between the two Ts in Mattila.

(Correct me if I'm wrong )

[zamyrabyrd]

Have you ever thought that this is the way those certain letters are pronounced in their native language? 

Sure, v is usually pronounced like an f, (verboten), unless it is from a foreign word like "vase", that I assume would not be pronounced like wase. And j is said like a y, as in the coming month, "Yanuar".

ZB